History of the Carroll County Fair
The first Carroll County Fair information we have at the present time is a copy of the 1959 Fair Information taken from the Carroll County Chronicles – this copy is courtesy of Ruthie Griggs
After 1959, we are unsure of the exact year this era of the County Fair ended.
In 1979 Leroy McGrady (shown to the left), along with Wayne Combs (shown to the right), led a group of people to start the Carroll County Fair back up at the Carroll County High School.
Included in this group were Marvin Huff, Dean Sutphin, Gary Cockram, Joe Stillwell, and Mike Hylton, among other FFA Alumni.
This Fair was held at the Carroll County High School Junior Parking Lot with Exhibits being displayed in the cafeteria. The Fair was held in early September after Labor Day from 1979 until September of 1985.
All proceeds of this era of the County Fair went back to the CCHS Ag Classes.
Major events included a Farm Pull, Horse Show, Forestry Events, and Exhibits.
In late 2003 and early 2004, an idea to renew the County Fair started taking form once again. This effort was started with various county employees studying other local and regional county fairs. A Fair committee was formed within a couple of years consisting of county employees and local citizens.
The committee planned out and held the first county fair of this new era.
This Carroll County Fair was held September 14th – 17th, 2005; it was called the Carroll County Expo for the first year then changed the name to the Carroll County Agricultural Fair.
This Fair was held at the VFW Grover King Post 1115 in Hillsville, Virginia. Many county employees and various citizens helped make the first year of this Fair a success.
The Carroll County Agricultural Fair moved from its location at the VFW to the Fairgrounds at the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market in Hillsville after the fourth year.
Since 2005, this fair has grown into an annual event for our area to be proud of!!!
Video produced by the CCHS Media Class 2010/11
